Kumar Bahukhandi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (channel24india.com)
The Prime Minister had also directed ministers during the earlier meeting to engage more actively with the public and effectively communicate the government’s achievements over the past 12 years, underlining the importance of both governance delivery and public outreach.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday June 30, 2024 chaired a high-level meeting of secretaries from all central ministries, with discussions centred around on government policy reforms, administrative efficiency, and the government’s long-term vision of Viksit Bharat 2047. The discussion with top babus focused on two key themes– deregulation and other reforms for ease of doing business and ease of living, while the other one was promoting Aatmanirbharta.
The meeting, however, comes after PM Modi concluded his official visit to Seychelles on Monday. This meeting was the Modi’s second major institutional interaction with the top babus in less than two months. In the Tuesday’s meeting, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of adopting a whole-of-government approach and breaking departmental silos.
According to sources, the meeting was aimed at reviewing progress on major governance initiatives and accelerating administrative execution in the second half of this fiscal, while aligning the country’s top bureaucracy with the government’s policy reforms for ease of doing business in the country. “All top bureaucrats also reviewed measures to improve the ease of living through citizen-centric reforms and structural changes designed to strengthen governance and public service delivery,” the source said.
During the interaction, the sources said, secretaries outlined the major steps being taken by their respective ministries and departments in line with the two key themes. “They highlighted ongoing efforts to translate the prime minister’s vision into actionable outcomes, while also discussing sector-specific challenges and outlining their future strategies to enhance governance and service delivery,” the sources said.
During that meeting, the sources further said that the Prime Minister urged officials to accelerate decision-making, ensure government files moved without unnecessary delays and simplify governance through structural reforms. “Stressing the importance of long-term planning, he told officials that Viksit Bharat 2047 was not merely a slogan but a long-term commitment of the government,” the source said.
Highlighting the importance of integrated planning and coordination, Modi also encouraged wider utilisation of the PM GatiShakti as an effective platform for inter-departmental coordination and informed decision-making. He also exhorted the secretaries to focus on the tangible impact of Schemes on the lives of people.
The meeting, however, focussed on a key mid-term stocktaking of the government’s performance in all sectors, emphasising the need for faster decision-making and efficient governance in the country. The prime minister also pointed out that there should be maximising productivity in the minimum time possible.
“The discussion was aimed at identifying administrative bottlenecks, reducing bureaucratic red tape, simplifying regulatory compliance and enhancing India’s economic competitiveness,” the sources said. Tuesday’s meeting also assumes significance as it comes amid the Centre’s continued emphasis on administrative efficiency, regulatory simplification and outcome-oriented governance.
It was also the Prime Minister’s second major interaction with the country’s top bureaucracy in less than two months. “Individual secretaries presented detailed reports on their respective ministries’ performance, highlighting reform milestones, implementation challenges and policy outcomes,” the sources said. The review meeting with top bureaucrats follows a similar high-level exercise held on May 21, when Modi convened a joint meeting of the Union council of ministers and central secretaries to prepare regulatory roadmaps aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
“The May review also included an assessment of ministries’ performance, advising lower-ranked departments to take corrective measures and improve their functioning. The exercise was viewed as a mid-term assessment of the government’s overall performance,” the sources said.
The Prime Minister had also directed ministers during the earlier meeting to engage more actively with the public and effectively communicate the government’s achievements over the past 12 years, underlining the importance of both governance delivery and public outreach.
The Tuesday meeting was attended by cabinet secretary TV Somanathan, principal secretary to the prime minister PK Mishra, principal secretary Shaktikanta Das, the secretary of the department of military affairs, and other secretaries of key ministries and departments, marked one of the PM’s first full-secretary-level interactions in the current financial year.
